"Working
girls” in Deadwood
were as prominent a fixture as that of the many miners in the bustling
boom camp. Though these "ladies”most likely arrived almost as soon as the
first man, the first record of prostitutes coming to
Deadwood
was in July, 1876. Arriving with
Charlie Utter's
wagon train, along with Wild Bill Hickok
and Calamity Jane,
were several "professional” women, including two madams who went by the
names of Dirty Em and Madam Mustachio. The two seasoned veterans had
previously worked in many of the
California
and Nevada mining camps. The miners were so pleased to see the women that
they lined up along the street and cheered.

A
thriving industry in the camp dominated almost entirely by men, in 1876,
it was estimated that approximately 90% of women of the camp were "painted
ladies.”

Difficult for a woman
to make a living in the
American West during these times, many single women or those who
had lost husbands or fathers to provide for them were almost forced into
prostitution in order to support themselves.

In other cases, such
as that of Al Swearengen
and the
Gem Saloon, unsuspecting women were lured to
Deadwood
with the promise of respectable employment, only to find themselves
stranded without money or means and without other options, virtually
enslaved in the dance halls or brothels.

These many women not
only charged for sexual favors but also hustled drinks, sold "dances,”
and were sometimes stage performers.

Largely confined to
the Badlands district at the north end of town,
saloons
and theaters usually occupied the first floors, while the brothels
operated upstairs. By the turn of the century, the Badlands occupied
an entire block of two-story buildings on the west side of Main
Street.

Often these women
faced violence and turned to drugs and alcohol as a means of escape.
Opium, laudanum, and morphine, with laudanum being the most often
used. Unfortunately, doctors often started the "girls” use of
the drug to reduce the number of calls he would receive. At other
times, it was their employers who got them started on the drugs, in
order to better control them. Suicides were common in the camp
and Dr. F.S. Howe, the only doctor in Deadwood
during its earliest days, always carried his stomach pump when
summoned to the Badlands in the middle of the night.

Having little protection from the law
or anyone else, the women were often abused by their customers and
employers. On one occasion, a
Gem Theatre prostitute named Tricksie, shot a man through the head
after he beat her up. When Howe arrived, he was amazed that the
man was still alive, even after putting a probe all the way through
the his head. However, this nameless man died about thirty minutes
later.

The men, too, were often at risk as
prostitutes sometimes helped themselves to any gold, money or
valuables that might have been in their pockets. However, this was
generally not the case as most of the women prospered, at least in the
beginning, due to the high demand of their "services.”

Though they obviously
didn’t keep official records of their business dealings and financial
affairs, they were generally paid in gold dust, which was worth about $20
an ounce when those first "sporting
girls” arrived. Outnumbering the girls 200 to 1, the men were quick to
provide a pinch or two of dust for female companionship. In the
beginning, when "services” were not so available, the "pinches” were
bigger. Rumors of the time suggested that the youngest and most
beautiful girls sometimes received as much as three ounces of gold
dust.

Before permanent buildings were erected, much
of the business was conducted inside tents or covered wagons, but it
didn’t take the Madams long to establish regular brothels where the women
could work.

Obviously it was the
Madams who really made the money from the 40% share she took from the
girls, but even more so, from the sale of liquor. Visitors to the "house”
were "expected” to buy a drink, as well purchasing another for any "lady”
that they might be spending time with.

For her share of the take, the Madam provided
room, board, and "protection” to her girls; however, the women were
required to pay for their own clothing and personal necessities.

As prostitution waned in
nearby areas when laws were passed and "proper” women charged forward to
ensure compliance, Deadwood's
"service businesses” continued to thrive. In fact, it was so
profitable, that many of the madams began to have branch houses in nearby
Belle Fourche, Sturgis, Keystone, Custer, Hay Camp, (later known as Rapid
City), and other areas. There was even a floating barge brothel on
the Belle Fourche River to the north.

When the gold rush was
over, the girls remained and the houses were one of the primary supports
of the local economy through Prohibition and the Depression. The upstairs
floors on Main Street were as much an integral part of
Deadwood
as the legends of Wild Bill Hickok
and Calamity Jane.

Despite state laws
forbidding prostitution, no city ordinance was ever passed in
Deadwood
to outlaw the practice and for decades, the prostitution business went on
with little interference from the outside world and little care by the
locals for what the rest of the nation might be doing. Only briefly
did they close, in 1952, when an ambitious young attorney and newcomer to
Deadwood
was elected as States Attorney. He soon raided the houses and closed
them down; however, not only did his move fail in furthering his
ambitions, the houses were reopened just six months later due to a
technicality. When he ran for reelection soon after the abortive
attempt, he lost.

For another 28 years the
brothels continued to prosper until 1980 when the FBI raided them. The alleged cause were rumors that girls as young as 14 were being "sold”
by biker gangs. After grabbing the girls and placing them in vans,
the authorities then padlocked the four remaining open brothels.

But, the people of
Deadwood
were stumped as to the brothels' closings, asking the proverbial question,
"Why?” To this, the
Deadwood
police chief replied "I haven't the foggiest." Then, "I suppose it was
because we hadn't done anything about it before."

Most of the local
residents hoped the 1980 closing would just "go away,” as the support for
the "girls” went far beyond tolerance, insisting that they contributed to
the economic base of the city. One businessman said of the whole affair:
"They're a public service, not a public nuisance."

However, to ensure
prostitution wasn't revived in Deadwood,
officials were said to have continued to occupy the upstairs apartments on
Main Street for years afterwards.

After more than a century, a
Deadwood
institution had been closed forever and most of the out-of-work girls
moved on. Though the sporting ladies of the gulch may be gone, they
are not forgotten as Deadwood
continues to celebrate them in parades, stories, and musical revues.